


Don't Worry, I've Got You

by SoriSeeraKyra



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Insecurity, Jealousy, Makeup, submissive behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 07:32:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12316596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoriSeeraKyra/pseuds/SoriSeeraKyra
Summary: A request from tumblr for an Insecure/Jealous Tim Drake. Enjoy!





	Don't Worry, I've Got You

Tim felt small, not in the usual way he did when she put heels on. He didn’t mind those times, anything to get a get a look at her shapely legs as she strutted in her heels. This feeling was different. Not matter how tightly he squeezed at her waist or hard he would shake someone’s hand, he felt utterly invisible and devastatingly unimportant.  He didn’t mind that either though, not usually. Tim didn’t mind taking a backseat, he wasn’t attention hungry, or jealous when people ignore him but this wasn’t really about him. This was about her, it usually was about her.

 

Whenever he was around her and she was in her element, her magnetic personality and sly shine to her eyes left people flocking to her, entranced by her confidence and mystery. When that would happen, he’d disappear. He never left her side, the pair of them were always joined at the hip, she’d make sure of that. Whenever he tried to drift away from her, she’d squeeze his hand and force him to stay there. However, it had the almost opposite effect of what she attended. He became like a handbag or an accessory. Most people would glance at him hollowly before they turned an adoring gaze to his lover. Even that he didn’t mind. He knew who she was, what she was like, and how she could easily see through all of their flowery words. Years of attending galas and balls with Bruce had taught him how to respond to these people, how to make himself known if he needed to.

 

No, what bothered him the most, what made him feel small, was even when they noticed he was there, arm wrapped around her waist, and when he was engaging with them, there were those who didn’t care. Those that would lean over whisper in her ear, place a lingering kiss on her check and then flash him a smirk. She would cast a questioning eye towards him, waiting for him to say something and when he didn’t her eyes would flicker away from him. She’d always reject their propositions, never begrudgingly pushed them away and would always offer him a sweet smile and squeeze of the hand when they were gone. But he still worried. He couldn’t tell if she was hiding it well or if she truly didn’t mind, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she was disappointed in him. Weren’t men supposed to be more assertive? More possessive of their loved ones? If she was in danger he wouldn’t mind running into save her from anything, he could be a hawk then. But in situations like this, every tactic he tried left him feeling like a fledgling.

 

Tonight, it was even worse. Tonight, was about her. It was the celebration of her accomplishment. Bruce had graciously had allowed her to start a Wayne subsidiary company that focused on developing technologies designed to catapult the world into the future. It’d require a lot of funding, as there was bound to be a large amount of failures with experimental tech, and Bruce trusted her to oversee this production. Her intelligence and own inventiveness made her the prime candidate to manage the such a company. There was a large buzz about the company, especially when she announced one of the first technologies that she had in development would be one that would commoditize artificial intelligence. A bold claim, that many would write off until they met the woman.

 

She looked magnificent in a floor length, midnight blue gown, the sported a deep dip that exposed her lovely back.  While she seemed to glide around the party he felt like he stumbled. Every time his hand ghosted over the exposed skin of her back a shiver would run down his spin at how soft her skin was. What was she doing with him? Why had she chosen him? Every time he’d accompany her to one of these events, he’d find himself questioning their relationship more and more. The more he thought about it, the more their puzzle pieces didn’t match. The more their relationship didn’t make any sense.

 

“Where are you?”

 

She’d snapped him from his thoughts with her question and sly smile on her painted red lips.

 

“Sorry, I was caught up in my thoughts. Did you say something?”

 

A manicured eyebrow arched in suspicion as she stared through him, as if trying to read his thoughts.

 

“I was asking you what you thought about leaving early? Sometime after the toasts.”

 

“This is your party though,” he said looking over the crowd of people gathered in the room. She probably didn’t notice, but every time she moved, eyes followed her from one corner of the room to the other. The entire party seemed to take a deep inhale and waited for her permission to exhale. But why would she notice something like that? When you’re that magnanimous of a person you didn’t notice things like that. He supposed that Bruce on some level understood the effect that he had on people, but Tim could never actually relate to it. Neither of them completely understood what their presence felt like to those who experienced it.

 

She took her seat at one of the long banquet tables and waited for him to join her. He hesitantly sat down.

 

A waiter came and placed a flute of champagne in front of the pair of them. She took the glass in her hand and took a sip, before placing it back down with a roll of her eyes.

 

“I don’t get the point of buying the most expensive bottles it all tastes like ass.”

 

With a chuckle, he paced her one of the many glasses of water that sat on the table, “Or you could admit, that you don’t like the taste of alcohol.”

 

“That’s not true,” she said with a slight pout. “I like the taste of alcohol when it doesn’t taste like alcohol.”

 

He gave her a teasing smile, “You still mix apple juice with wine when we are at home.”

 

“It makes it tropical.”

 

He puts a hand over his mouth to hide the wide smile that covered his face, but the laughs the spilled from between his lips had captured the attention of a few guests. When they eyed him disapprovingly, he felt his lips turn down quickly, afraid of embarrassing her.

 

“You see, this is what I mean,” she says brining his attention back to her form. Her furrowed brow and stern eyes expressed an amount of disappointment and irritation he didn’t want her to experience on a night like this. “There is no point in celebrating with people who make you miserable.”

 

“I was just making too much noise, it’s no big deal.”

 

“It is big deal if they are going to make you feel like shit,” she says rather harshly. “Who are they anyway? I don’t know them.”

 

“They’re probably investors.”

 

She shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest, “I should have them removed.”

 

“You’ll probably need them one day.”

 

“Well I need you now, and if you’re all depressed because of what some asshole thinks or says then there is no point of them being here is there? This is why I wanted to leave. Pretending to like these people is Bruce’s specialty not mine.”

 

In her anger, she picked up the champagne and drunk the leftover contents down, an angry frown pulling at her face.

 

“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me.”

 

It sounded pathetic and unnatural to his own ears. He was willing to give up his own happiness to make her happy, to make sure that she was successful. They both knew that, but they also both knew that this would not make either one of them happy. However, his insecurity kept letting words slip from his mouth that he didn’t really mean. And they would reach her ears before he would be able to pull them back.

 

She looked at him blankly for a moment. Emotion draining from her face as she observed him. And he realized he would probably be the person that irritated her the most tonight.

 

She doesn’t respond and instead opted to physically turn away from him. Her body shifted toward the stage watching as the first speaker began to make their way up on stage.

 

This would be a miserable party.

 

***

“It was wonderful to see you again, my dear.”

 

Tim couldn’t remember the name of the older woman who was currently pressing kisses to his cheeks, but he knows that he’s seen her at many of Bruce’s parties, meaning she was likely closely involved with the company.

 

“It was nice to see you to,” he said with a smile. His cheeks hurt from how long he’s had to keep the smile on his face.

 

As he pulls away from the hug, his eyes can’t help but worriedly linger on the form of his girlfriend who is saying goodbye to her colleagues who’d come to her party, majority of whom were male and seemed to lack the ability to keep their hands to themselves.

 

He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but the spark in her eye and the slight smirk the crossed her lips let her know that it was something business related. Had one of the proposed an idea to her? It would make sense, and would likely be the only reason that she would willingly remain at a party that she so clearly didn’t not want to be a part.

 

She leaned into one in particular, He was taller than the rest, with fiery red hair. It bothered Tim. The wider her smile got the closer the stranger moved into her.

 

“Are you all right, dear?”

 

The older woman, once again broke him out of his thoughts. He dark brown eyes regarding him worriedly.

 

“Yes,” he said weakly unable to fully break his gaze from his girlfriend surrounded by wolves.

 

“Oh,” the woman said, her tone flattening to sympathize with him. “People like that aren’t always meant for regular folks like us, dear.”

 

“What?” He said questioned looking back at the woman.

 

“I don’t mean regular, as in lacking money. I mean we weren’t born with _it_ , so it can be hard to keep up with those who do have it. They move in circles around us, and some of them can’t be contained.”

 

“What should I do then?”

 

“Let her go, that is probably going to be the best advice I can give you.” She said comfortingly patting him on his arm. “Otherwise, the rest of your life will be like this. She’ll be living her life to the fullest and you’ll be here, always on the outside, watching and waiting. Hoping that she’ll think that your more important than her work. But you never will be.”

 

He doesn’t respond. Doesn’t move as the woman pats his cheek once again and wishes him good luck and leave the room.

 

The party is over now. People barley filled the room now and aside from the echoing chuckles coming the small group that he’s watching.

 

She wouldn’t do that to him. Set him aside and leave him hanging, waiting for her validation that he so desperately wanted.

 

A lump tightened in his throat as he watched a hand drift to rest between her shoulder blades. She stiffens for a moment, skeptically eyeing the redhead who’d placed his large hand on her back.  But she doesn’t do what she normally does. She doesn’t politely shrug him off. Her lips don’t pull down into a distasteful frown nor do her eyes grow cold at his advances.

 

Slyly she shifts her gaze back to him. Eyes slightly cold, she meets his gaze and with a tip of her head she assessed him. Wondering what he would do at the man’s forward actions.

 

Tim felt his throat tighten in worry. Was it so easy to brush him off like this? Should he let her? Surely whatever she did was for business. She wasn’t the type of person that the old woman had been describing.  However, he couldn’t justify the thoughts as she turned away from him and didn’t bother to shove off the lingering hand. Instead, she leaned up to the man and whispered something in his ear.

 

The man’s lips parted with a wide grin the way that a hyena’s wood and he let out a loud raucous laugh.  He couldn’t tell if she smiled at his laughter or not, his vision had become clouded as he watched her place a practiced comforting hand on the man’s back as he leaned into her like they were old friends.

 

 He wanted to vomit. Of course, she would want someone who was like her. Tall, confident, and beautiful.

 A part of him wanted to run away. That would probably be best. Making a scene in front of these people would only serve to embarrass her.

 

Yet even as he thought to go and wait for her, wait for her to turn her gaze back to him, he found his feet marching toward the couple in anger. He could feel his fists clench, his mind felt blank, and his shoulders hurt, he wasn’t sure that what he felt was exactly anger. More like a blinding rage.

 

Before he knows what’s happening he’s smacked the man’s hand away from her back, and his fingers are laced with hers as he’s pulling her toward the exit. Well maybe he’s pulling her he can’t tell. It doesn’t feel like she’s putting up any resistance. She isn’t struggling or yelling at him for handling her so abruptly.

 

His breath is coming out in heavy pants by the time they reach the car. Digging into his pocket for the keys, his handshakes when he holds objects to his face. Wordlessly he hands her the keys knowing that he would be unable to drive safely with his mind so disturbed.

 

She takes them and he numbly walks over to the passenger side of the car.

 

The ride back to her apartment is loud even though no words are being spoken. His thoughts are running rapidly and he can’t make sense of his thoughts. Hopefully he would eventually be able to say what he wanted when they got home.

 

 

***

Just a little push, a little prodding. Maybe that way he’d say what he’d been holding back this whole time.

 

You watched from your position on the couch with curious eyes as he stomped around the apartment. Fists still clenched in anger. You try to keep the amused smirk from condescendingly playing on your lips, but the longer he paces through the rooms, the harder it becomes.

 

It was no secret that Tim was insecure. It was something that you had often had to try and shake him out of. You often made it a point to reject those who made flirtatious advances toward you in front of him. That way he would know that he didn’t have to worry about you being interested in anyone else. You loved Tim more than you had ever loved anyone, and you didn’t want him to feel the way that he did.

 

Sometimes, his insecurity was too much to bare. Tonight, had been a microcosm of some of the issues that come up with his insecurity. He had folded into himself, taking a rather passive approach to those who had made any sort of advancement to you. Even when you had suggested that it would have been best to leave, he had submissively suggested that you stay and do your do duty. That you try and please those people around you. Who cared about those people? If your company failed, they certainly wouldn’t be clamoring to be around you. They were a bunch of crabs in a barrel, using whatever they could to climb up in the world. What you had wanted him to see was that the two of you were the only people that mattered. There was no need to stay in a party where the both of you were visibly unhappy.

 

You understood his train of thought though. He didn’t want to be a burden. For some reason, he had gotten a silly idea in his head that you were just waiting for the chance to leave him. That the moment someone remotely interesting came along, you would leap for them and leave him behind. As a result, whenever you were in public together, he tried to make himself more complaint, so that he wouldn’t annoy you. So, you wouldn’t think of leaving him.

 

His good intentions however, had the opposite effect. The fact that he thought you were so fickle hurt. You had been together for years, and you had planned to be with him until time said that you couldn’t. The little flirtations that you had made, had been a result of the frustration that you felt, you just hadn’t expected him to react to viscerally.

 

“Why are you mad?” You question. He stops in front of you, blue eyes aflame, and chest heaving in frustration. You knew your teasing tone was probably unhelpful right now, but it was natural and something that helped to attract the unwanted attention you got in the first place.

 

“Can you please just stop?” Its pleading and it forces itself past his lips in rather harsh tone that leaves you a little taken aback. “Can you just stop being you for five minutes? It’s so frustrating!”

 

Your back straightens as you cross your arms and legs and you look at him with a raised eyebrow with a cock of your head, “I thought you liked me.”

 

“I do!” He says exasperatedly. “And everyone else does too, that’s the problem!”

 

“I can’t help it if my magnanimous personality attracts those of lesser capability.”

 

“Don’t do that right now, please. I’m just like them.” He pleads. There is a rush of emotions that floods his features and you feel slightly guilty when frustrated tears fill the corners of his eyes.

 

“It feels like I’m drowning,” he says with a shrug, large hands resting on his head as he tries to calm himself. “Every time I go out with you, I realize that I’m not supposed to be there. That there is a world that you’ve created that I can’t ever fully be a part of.”

 

“You’ll have to forgive me if I seem stupid, dense, or dumb. But isn’t it just like going to a party with Bruce? You should be used to this by now.” You try to reason with him.

 

“It’s different because it’s _you_!” With a heavy sigh, he plops himself down next you, head buried in hand. He looks at you tiredly. “It’s like you’re the sun. You’re so big that you don’t even notice the planets around you. How you control their very destiny. Its effortless for you. When I’m with you I can see how everyone hangs on your every word. How central you are for these people’s lives. The things that you have done and will do will save more people in a day then I will have in a lifetime. When we are around those people, it is so hard to pretend, that I’m ever going to be on your level. It makes no since that you would want to be with me.”

 

“Do you not want to be with me?”

 

“No, I don’t mean that.” He says with a shake of his head. “It just feels like there is going to come a point where we just don’t make since anymore. Where having someone like me by your side doesn’t help you in anyway. I’m always wondering, how long we’ll have until we reach that point.”

 

You watch him for a moment, unsure of what to say to bring him comfort. Perhaps you weren’t the best at showing him how much he meant to you. Maybe you just assumed that a part of him, deep down, would understand your feelings. Clearly that wasn’t the case.

 

“You shouldn’t worry so much,” you say after a while of silence. You reach over and take his hand in yours and threading your fingers together. “Because you’re wrong.”

 

“What do you mean?” He says with a furrowed brow.

 

“The sun is a rare, because it’s a single star system. Most stars are binary, they come in pairs. So, you’re wrong I’m not the Sun. That would mean I would be able to do everything I do by myself and that’s just not true. I can’t imagine what it would be like without you. It’s hard to remember what life was like when you weren’t there. All those people, they mean nothing to me. They have no interest in what I like, they don’t know my hopes or dreams, or what I’m afraid of.  They like me because they see the money I can make them, how they can use me for their own ends. For you to even think that I would have any interest in them is foolish.”

 

“I- “

 

“I’m not finished, Drake.” You say firmly. “Perhaps I pushed you a little too far tonight. I shouldn’t have flirted, it wasn’t right. But there is a part of me that want you to be the person I see all the time. If we must go to these parties, I want you to be there with me, laughing at their hideous dresses and toupees. It is so strange to see you worry about being good enough for me, when I think you’re the most important person in the world.”

 

He looks at you for a moment, slightly stunned at your words. You lean toward him and press a kiss to his cheek and lovingly rest your head on his shoulder.

 

“The rest of those people are just background noise, cosmic background radiation if we are using analogies to space,” you say with a slight chuckle and earning slight smile in return. “If it makes you feel better I can get a tattoo across my chest with your name on it. They’ll definitely leave me alone then.”

 

“Then I’ll be worried about the tattoo artist that was touching your chest.”

 

“Well, we are at a dilemma then aren’t we.”

 

“Sorry, for causing you trouble.”

 

“It’s good trouble.” You say with a smile. “It lets me know that you care, even if you are being slightly irrational.”

 

Its silent for a moment and the two of you lean back against to the couch. The grip his hand has on yours tightens for a moment and he lets out a breath as the heavy tension releases from his shoulders.

 

“I supposed I really do have nothing to worry about.”

 

“Oh?” You question, eyes shifting to meet his questioningly. “What made you come to that realization.”

 

“Who else would understand what you mean when you compare people to cosmic background radiation? When they start talking to you they’ll realize you’re just a giant nerd.”

 

“Yes, well, we have that in common.”


End file.
